Foot drop
Foot drop is a condition or term that is used to describe an inability to dorsiflex or extend the foot (point up). Because of this, when a person has foot drop their foot tends to slap the ground as they walk. This can lead to clumsiness when walking and the tendency to trip.
Foot drop is caused by a nerve problem. The nerve may be located in the low back or in the leg. When the nerve loses its ability to conduct a signal to muscles, muscle weakness results. Without a strong shin muscle, the foot cannot work properly – hence foot drop.
Symptoms
The symptoms of foot drop are what the name suggests. Foot drop occurs when there is an inability to lift the foot (toes pointing to the sky). Depending on the underlying cause there will typically be symptoms associated with this. A common cause is a herniated disc causing nerve compression in the low back. Thus, low back pain could be associated with this.
Treatment
The treatment of foot drop depends on the underlying cause. In some cases urgent medical and surgical treatments are necessary. In other cases, rehabilitation by a chiropractor is needed. Speak to your healthcare provider for more information about foot drop.
Causes of low back pain
The following conditions are common causes of low back pain.
- Lumbar myelopathy
- Cauda equina syndrome
- Lumbar spinal stenosis
- Bone Spurs
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD)
- Pinched nerve
- Lumbar radiculopathy
- Lumbar facet joint pain
- Bulging Disc
- Herniated Disc
- Disc protrusion
- Discogenic pain
- Post laminectomy syndrome
- Coccydynia
- Spondylolisthesis
- Spondyloarthropathy
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Reiter’s syndrome
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Enteropathic arthritis
- Sacroiliac disorders
- Foot drop
- Spinal neurofibroma
- Acute low pain
- Chronic low back pain
- Stiff low back
- Trigger points in the low back
- Red flags for low back pain
- Internal disc disruption
- Lumbar spondylosis
- Lumbar facet syndrome
- Lumbar foraminal stenosis
- Lumbar disc herniation
- Lumbar osteoarthritis
- Lumbar osteophytes
